


Anything Serious

by tuesday



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Background Relationships, Drunk Sex, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Open Relationships, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 11:54:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesday/pseuds/tuesday
Summary: “I’m not interested in anything serious,” Natasha said the first time.“But you are interested?”





	Anything Serious

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Meatball42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/gifts).

> The first half of this was written for the song prompt "Bad." The second half was for "I'm not in Love." Recip, I guessed from "Stop!" that you'd be okay with other relationships, though I made it open instead of cheating. On the off chance I've egregiously misinterpreted the interpretive dance of your prompts and you'd prefer all Natasha/Tony to take place when Pepper/Tony isn't a thing (or for it to be divergent in a way that precludes Pepper/Tony entirely), please let me know. I'm willing to make changes to make this better fit what you'd like. 
> 
> This is purposefully Schrodinger's canon compliance. Do Pepper and Tony get back together post-Civil War? Is it Endgame compliant? Reader's choice.

1.

“I’m not interested in anything serious,” Natasha said the first time.

“But you are interested?” Stark was an almost charming mix of confident and insecure.

“Why not?” Natasha was on assignment. He was dying. Neither of these were a deterrent. Both were, in fact, benefits. One way or another, anything between them had an expiration date.

“A question I often ask myself,” Stark said as he put his hands on her hips. “I’ve never been able to come up with a convincing answer.”

Stark was attractive. He was experienced. Of all the complaints about him, none had been that he was a selfish lover. She had no reason not to, and a few that said it wouldn’t be the worst way to spend her evening.

Natasha reached up and pulled him down into a kiss.

2.

The second time, she was still on assignment. It was drawing to what seemed like its inevitable end. It was Stark’s birthday. He was drunk and in his armor. He was lying in the trashed remains of his living room.

“Not your best look,” Natasha said.

“Huh. You’re still here.”

“So are you,” Natasha said.

Stark had the faceplate up. He had a cut on his nose. He was going to bruise in at least two places, and that was just what Natasha could see. He looked pathetic.

“Want to come sit on my face?” Stark offered shamelessly like he didn’t care what her answer would be.

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” Natasha asked.

Stark smirked. “I don’t think I can get it up right now, no, but that’s not a requirement for a little light cunnilingus.”

Natasha huffed a laugh. She walked over to him. She sat on his face and, despite her better judgment, let him fingerfuck her with the gauntlet on.

3.

The third time was entirely Natasha’s doing. She was done for the day.

“Will that be all, Ms. Potts?” she asked.

“That will be all, Ms. Rushman,” Potts said.

Natasha went to the mansion where Stark was on lockdown. According to Phil, Stark was in the middle of demolishing it to build a collider, but the man had to rest sometime. Natasha thought she could help.

“One babysitter wasn’t enough?” Stark asked, rubbing at his brow with his forearm. He was holding a wrench. Something about the sleeveless, sweaty look was doing it for Natasha.

“That’s not a roleplay I’m particularly interested in,” Natasha said.

“But you are interested,” Stark said flatly this time, disbelievingly.

“I’m here,” Natasha said, because it was pretty self-evident.

“What makes you think _I’m_ interested?” Stark asked. Natasha gave him a look. “Okay, fair.”

“I can go.” Though Natasha was certain it wouldn’t come to that.

Sure enough, Stark put the wrench down. “I hope you realize I’m expecting reciprocity this time. No more free rides.”

“I promise I’ll make it a fun ride for both of us,” Natasha said.

And she did. She rode him twice that evening, and they both had fun. When he fell asleep, she rolled out of bed, put on her clothes, and let herself out.

4.

One would think she’d gotten it out of her system. Then again, it wasn’t like Natasha had too many choices that knew about her real identity and understood it would be entirely casual. She’d learned her lesson about sleeping with S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. When Stark showed up on the helicarrier, Natasha let herself stand a little closer than she would otherwise. She thought it over. Not while she was on the job, but after—after was promising from the way he looked her up and down like he was remembering the last time he’d seen her naked.

After the attack on the helicarrier, the attack on New York City, and closing a portal with Stark on the wrong side of it, they all went out for substandard shwarma. After that, Natasha turned to Stark and asked if he wanted to make good on that promise.

“You know I’m dating Pepper,” Stark said.

“I’m aware.” She was also aware it was an open relationship.

“Agent told you, didn’t he?” Stark said, eyes narrowed.

“Phil doesn’t kiss and tell,” Natasha said. It was too late to correct. All she could do was keep her expression in the same configuration, as though she hadn’t noticed the tense she’d used.

Stark’s face crumpled. “Shit. How am I going to tell Pepper?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Natasha said.

Stark rubbed at his face. “I need to make a phone call. Stick around until I’m done?”

Natasha stuck around. When Stark was done delivering the bad news to his girlfriend, he took Natasha back to his partly wrecked tower, found an unscathed room with a reasonably comfortable couch, and celebrated being alive. He was an even better fuck when he wasn’t poisoned and on death’s door.

5.

It kept happening. It wasn’t serious. It was very, very good.

* * *

1.

The first time Tony said it, Natasha pretended she hadn’t heard. It was kinder to both of them.

“I love you,” he’d gasped softly against her shoulder. It was possible he hadn’t noticed. It was possible it was just a holdover from Pepper, something automatic to say while he was sheathed deep inside of a sexual partner. It was possible that it wasn’t a problem.

After he came, he went down on her until she reached another peak. When she pushed his head away, over-sensitized and done for the night, he stretched out on the mattress beside her and smiled in a soft way that spelled trouble. He tangled his fingers in her hair and put his head on the pillow beside hers.

She waited until his breathing deepened and evened out. She extricated herself slowly, carefully. She gathered up her clothes. She left.

It was what she did, what she’d done every time. This time was no different.

Nothing had changed.

2.

The next time, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t hear it. He didn’t actually say the words, “I love you,” but he did say, “Have you ever considered—?” He trailed off. His eyes were a little wide, vulnerable. His mouth was soft. He looked hesitant and hopeful at once, like he was asking despite his better judgment.

Natasha put her hair up, glancing around the room to see where her bra had ended up. She didn’t meet his gaze. “Pepper will take you back.”

“What if I don’t want her to?” Tony said.

No. Absolutely not.

“You want her to,” Natasha said firmly.

Tony slumped. “Yeah, okay, I do, but—”

“I have a mission in the morning.” Natasha dropped a quick kiss against Tony’s mouth. She ran a hand through his hair. “Good night.”

“So that’s a no,” Tony said.

“_Good night_, Tony.”

Tony dropped back against his bed. He sighed. “Good night, Nat.”

Natasha abandoned the hunt for her bra. She could find it another night, or Tony could find it for her. She went home.

3.

Natasha shouldn’t have come. The United States wasn’t a great place for her right now.

“You’re still here,” Tony said, pausing in the door of his bedroom.

“I’m leaving in the morning,” Natasha said.

“I thought you’d already left.” Tony loosened his tie. He looked tired.

“I can go now,” Natasha offered, but she didn’t think it would come to that.

“I’m really mad at you,” Tony said quietly.

Natasha got up from her position perched on the foot of the bed.

Tony held up a hand. “That doesn’t mean you should leave.”

Natasha kept going until she was in reach, until she was pressed chest to chest and staring right into his eyes. They gleamed in the warm glow of the bedside lamp. Tony closed his eyes. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. She pressed another to his jaw. She took over removing his tie, sliding it out of his collar. Tony tipped his head back, and she bit gently at his neck.

Tony went from zero to full speed ahead, grabbing her ass, then moving his hands down to her thighs and tugging insistently, lifting. She went with it, wrapping her legs around his waist. He carried her to bed, but didn’t so much set her down as throw them both onto it.

What followed was rough. It was desperate. It was over far too soon.

“Don’t go,” Tony said when it was over.

But it was over.

Natasha left.

4.

There were a lot of things Natasha had missed about living in the Avengers Compound. Tony in easy driving distance was admittedly one of them. The drive was a little further since the end of the world. Natasha made it anyway.

“I’m not coming back,” Tony said when he greeted her on the porch of his cabin.

“I’m not asking you to,” Natasha said.

“Want to come in?” Tony asked.

“Always,” Natasha said.

Tony opened the door. Natasha went inside.

5.

“I might be in love with you,” Natasha admitted quietly, resting her head on Tony’s bare chest. “Just a little bit.”

Tony’s hands were buried in her hair. His smile was incandescent. He said, “Took you long enough.”


End file.
